JTech780

I have Jankowski and Stone in for the St. Louis game because it is the first game of a back to back and just want to have fresh bodies available for Edmonton.

These are the lines I would go with for the next two games. Vs STL: Tkachuk-Lindholm-Dube Gaudreau-Monahan-Ryan Mangiapane-Backlund-Bennett Lucic-Jankowski-Rieder Giordano-Brodie Hanifin-Andersson Stone-Hamonic Rittich Vs Edm: Tkachuk-Lindholm-Dube Gaudreau-Monahan-Ryan Mangiapane-Backlund-Bennett Lucic-Rieder-Rinaldo Giordano-Brodie Hanifin-Andersson Kylington-Hamonic Talbot

They both have the same PPG (.53) over the last 3 seasons, the thing is Subban is in decline and Dumba is entering his prime. At this point Dumba is the better player. Not to mention that Subban brings a level of distraction with him.

I think Rasmussen played junior with Valimaki, but I don't think there was a connection to Andersson. Burakovsky is best friends with Andersson.

I think Giordano-Dumba, Hanifin-Andersson pairings makes a ton of sense for this team next year. Dumba would also add a big shot to the PP that is really missing. As TD said adding Dumba would make Brodie or Hamonic more expendable, so we could move one or both of them at the deadline for help in other areas. I could see Dumba costing Bennet and a 1st, maybe more.

The name that came up during the Insider Trading that surprised me the most and jumped to the top of my list of targets was Dumba. IMO he fits what we need right now and going forward. I would prioritize him over anyone else rumoured to be available. Dumba would help our scoring with his ability to score and his ability to create offense. He is also a RHS D, who isn't afraid to play the body. Dumba is also from Calgary. I would put our 1st round pick on the line for Dumba.

I was thinking Nylander for DeAngelo and Georgiev. I don't think the Rangers see Georgiev as their goalie of the future.

That was a full season of Brodie, and they were looking to move Kadri anyways. Completely different story now.

Since Toronto is in desperate need for experienced defense, who would we give up that would make sense to get Kapanen? I can't see Dubas wanting Hamonic, because he leans heavily towards skill and analytics and Hamonic doesn't really check those boxes. I think Brodie does and the fact that he was almost traded there earlier, makes him a likely target. We would have to eat some of the cap hit to make them match. I just don't think Brodie as a UFA gets you Kapanen. The other issue is, I don't think our defense is deep enough to be moving defensemen, so unless a defenseman is coming from somewhere else I just don't see a deal with Toronto as realistic. I also think Toronto will make a big deal with the Rangers involving a forward for Georgiev and a defenseman.

Dallas is the one team I thought might jump at Gallant right away.

That isn't entirely true, I could be wrong, but Reilly and Muzzin are expected to be back before the playoffs so they need to account for their cap hits to go back on the books as well. The Leafs have been juggling LTIR all season and basically have accrued 0 cap space for the deadline, so any trade for them will have to have the same money going out as coming in. As far as trading Ceci to add Brodie, its basically a sideways move for them. They need to add defense without subtracting any defense.

Trades with Toronto are going to be really tricky just because of the fact that they need to do dollar for dollar trades and I am not sure I see a trade where that makes sense for both teams at equal cap hits going both ways. Also if we trade Brodie we need a defenseman coming back. I think a Hamonic to Winnipeg trade makes more sense, but with us battling for 1st in the division I can't see us moving a defenseman without it making us substantially better.

I think you have to load up the first one as well, it is hard enough to score on the PP to begin with and if you aren't putting your best talent out there for majority of your PP you are missing opportunities. The top unit plays a 1:15 - 1:30 of the PP, so you may as well have your top end talent out for that time. My biggest issues with the PP, are that there isn't enough movement and they don't get the puck to the slot enough. There is a lot of passing on the outside, but there isn't enough movement from the players without the puck, they just watch the puck carrier. Monahan has one of the most accurate shots and quickest releases in the game, but they rarely get the puck to him on the PP.

That's where I am at, if we wait till the off season, I don't think Gallant will available and there won't be a coach at the same level as Gallant available. I think we need to take our shot now. He might not want to come here either way, but hey if comes to Calgary he has an even better shot of sticking it to his former team for firing him.